The Internet of things (IoT), which is the network of physical devices embedded with sensors, actuators, and connectivity, is being accelerated into the mainstream by the emergence of 5G wireless networking. The rapid growth of both the number of connected devices and the data volume that is expected to be associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) applications, has increased the popularity of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) type communication within 5G wireless communication systems. Uncoordinated random-access schemes have attracted lots of attention in the standards of cellular networks as a possible method for making a massive number of M2M communications possible with a low signaling overhead.
Uncoordinated random access protocols have attracted increased attention as a possible method for enabling massive numbers of M2M communications of short packets possible with a low signaling overhead. However, while uncoordinated medium access protocols, such as Aloha and slotted Aloha (SA), perform well in small networks, they cannot provide sufficient throughput in networks with large numbers of IoT devices transmitting simultaneously over a shared medium, due to the numerous collisions at the IoT gateway.
Accordingly, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how the problem of connecting a large number of low-complexity and power-limited IoT devices over a shared wireless medium could be overcome.